Hi again, all!Some vintage Realmslore from Ed, in response to this June 6th (heh; this year, scribes!) query from George Krashos: “I haven't asked questions of Ed for a while, and I've been doing some delving in ancient mouldy texts and came upon his old "Rogue Stones and Gemjumping" article in Dragon #116. One of my favourite, favourite articles for lots of reasons - not the least of which was the little realmslore vignettes Ed used to showcase the many and varied uses of this spell. A little bit of the lore showcased there has been taken up by other writers, but a few bits remain unexplained. Specifically, I was wondering if Ed could let us know a bit about the locations mentioned in the article, and not repeated anywhere else in the published Realms. I'm talking about Rallyhorn, Dulgund and Sulmarin. Anything to share?”Ed replies:

Hi, George! I am busier than busy right now, hence my delay in replying (for which I must apologize), but this is lore I really should have shared with the wider world LONG ago, so here we go . . .

RALLYHORNThis hamlet “just grew” around the base of Rallyhorn Castle, the ancestral castle of the old Cormyrean noble family of Rallyhorn. That fortress stands atop the tor known as Rallyhorn Ho, overlooking Hultail (“the Ho” is southeast of built-up Hultail). When Rallyhorn was renamed Hultail in 98 DR, as the first formal Cormyrean “naming laws” were drafted (as opposed to the earlier practice of altering names when royal displeasure was expressed), “Rallyhorn” became just the oldest neighborhood in Hultail (a handful of streets immediately around Rallyhorn Foregate, the steep street connecting the castle gates with the former grazing meadows below (now built up, covered with the buildings of Hultail).Lord Theldrin Rallyhorn, the builder of Rallyhorn Castle, was Steward of the Court in Cormyr, a fabulously wealthy and able courtier whom the wizard Baerauble once described as “the right hand of the throne.” Lord Theldrin assisted the kings Daravvan, Dorglor, Embrold, and Irbruin. The Rallyhorns have never been quite as powerful since Lord Theldrin’s passing, but are very much still around—and respected—in the Forest Kingdom. Rallyhorn Castle remains their country seat, though most Rallyhorns are resident in Suzail, much of the time, and use the Castle only as a summer gathering-place and a waystop on hunting trips and other travel into the eastern reaches of the Realm.The neighborhood of Rallyhorn was once the noisome site of two rival tanneries and their attendant sheds and workers’ huts, but as the Hullack Forest was pushed back leaving the tanneries farther and farther from the source of wild hides (being as livestock hides can be processed almost anywhere), the tanneries relocated eastwards up the Wyvernwater, leaving Rallyhorn to be what it is today: a poor neighborhood where weavers and garment-makers and dyers dwell and work, at the foot of the tor still crowned by Rallyhorn Castle.

DULGUNDNamed for the dwarf who first began mining here (circa 1108 DR), Dulgund Greatanvil, this small, spartan stone settlement was once an important Sword Coast island port because of its rich iron mines (very pure veins of iron ore, easily accessed through mountainside caverns that had formerly been dragon lairs).Dulgund stood on the east or landward side of the mountains that covered (or comprised, if one prefers) all of the isle of Drelvros, around the seabird-haunted, rocky island’s sole small inlet (natural harbor). Drelvros was a legendarily fearless seacaptain who perished (with his ship, and all hands on it) somewhere near the island when he sailed onto jagged rocks during a blinding storm in 994 DR.One of The Nelanther or “Pirate Isles,” Drelvros is less about the shape of a cashew nut (“krail” nuts in the Realms, BTW), with the long curving back being its west side. Less than a mile long and about a third of that wide at its widest point, it is essentially, these days, a bare rock outcrop, though one freshwater creek spills down out of its interior on the northern landward side, and supports a handful of windswept trees and shrubs. Drelvros can be found north and west of the Sea Tower of Irphong (it’s the next island out from where the Sea Tower stands).Dulgund was largely washed away in a terrific storm early in the winter of 1163 DR, that also flooded the iron workings (and drowned Dulgund Greatanvil and his fellow delvers, who by that time had dug down into the Underdark, and were beset by its fiercer inhabitants and battling daily to retain possession of their tunnels). Attempts to refound the mines failed in the face of the seawater that has claimed the mines seemingly forever—and the return of young but vicious dragons, who come seeking suitable lairs, and try to use the mountain caverns. They seldom stay throughout a winter, but every spring brings new lair seekers. The roofless stone ruins of Dulgund’s few huts have served many pirates as a temporary encampment, and there are the inevitable rumors of pirate treasure being hidden here or there on Drelvros or under Dulgund, but these days, Drelvros is uninhabited and little visited.

SULMARINThis former trading-port on The Shining Sea was long ago swallowed by the ever-expanding port city of Sheirtalar. “Sulmarin” is now the name of a slum in Sheirtalar, where the wharves rot and sag into the water, and the poorest fisherfolk and smugglers eke out rather perilous livings rowing and drifting their boats in and out during the dawn mists and the hours of darkness, importing and exporting kidnap victims, wines and jewels and other small, portable cargoes that wealthier Sheirtalans desire to avoid paying taxes on, and ostensibly eel-fishing in the muddy coastal shallows south of the port.Sulmarin was formerly more prosperous, and the home of skilled gemcutters and finemetal casters who made many palm-sized filigreed candle-lamps, cane “skorbels” (cap-knobs), metal “feet” for wooden furniture of all sorts (in the South, most stools, benches, tables, and anything else that has legs has the lower legs shod in decorative leggings fused with feet, to guard against the feet rotting due to damp or the boring tsarngel worm), notably the families of Arlyng and Elkazhad (gems) and Brorlythynd, Calchauncz, and Yurzrel (castings).Today, the fell necromancer Ieirith (“EAR-rith”) Sprydurszace (“Spry-DUR-say-ss”), better known as “Spiderface,” dwells in Sulmarin, and rules it through fear. He has devised a method of mating crawling claws and some spiders with undead human eyeballs he can use spells to see out of, from afar, and has more formidable servants, both undead and living, to enforce his will. Spiderface wants to be left alone to experiment, and to be able to reach out at will into the wider Realms for supplies he needs for his necromantic experimentations, and won’t trouble anyone who doesn’t intrude into Sulmarin or hamper his dark existence. He’s known to be fond of the sticky, opaque, salty black local wine known as “klelthlor”—and human flesh.

I have a little more on Sulmarin, but have to navigate around an existing NDA and err on the side of caution, so I hope what's here is of help.Now, I'm back to - - well, no, I can't say anything about THAT, either. :}

So saith Ed, who isn't just snowed under with work right now, he's BLIZZARDED under. Yet promises to get to all of the great recent queries when he can, so keep them coming!love to all,THO

would the "Dungeons of Torment" mentioned in that rogue stones article be in the flooded tunnels under Dulgund, or in an area accessible through dry tunnels, or elsewhere like a demiplane or something?

quote:Originally posted by The Hooded One

He has devised a method of mating crawling claws and some spiders with undead human eyeballs...

do these critters have names that can be shared yet?

somehow i imagine bards nicknaming the spider "hairy eyeball" and... i got nothin on the other one. wait, i lied: seeing eye hand. no, everblinking hand. 'cuz it's on the ground and always has dust in its eye... ugh. i wouldn't quit my day job, if i had one.

Hi again, all!Some vintage Realmslore from Ed, in response to this June 6th (heh; this year, scribes!) query from George Krashos: “I haven't asked questions of Ed for a while, and I've been doing some delving in ancient mouldy texts and came upon his old "Rogue Stones and Gemjumping" article in Dragon #116.

Just magnificent, many thanks to George for asking and to Ed for providing such brilliant lore.

Ed a couple of follow up questions if I may?You mentioned that Rallyhorn was renamed as Hultail, may I ask why? Hultail sounds like a given name, so was it renamed to honour someone who had served the king loyally? (similar to how Dhedluk was renamed?) or because the crown wanted to put a stop to nobles naming towns and cities after themselves?

You also mentioned formal 'naming laws'. So did the Crown at the time go through most/all/a few settlements and rename them so they became official rather than the 3 or 4 or more names that the locals called the hamlet/village/town that they live in adding to confusion for people who were not local?

One final question about the Rallyhorns. Were they there with the Obarskyrs and Silver families when Cormyr came into being? The date is very early in human led Cormyr history or are the Rallyhorns an early example of the Kings of Cormyr saying,"Well done, be ennobled, and now go and build a keep on the borderlands of the Kingdom and keep the peace". I ask this because it is only 92 years since the ascension of Faerlthann First-King and it would seem that the site chosen by Theldrin is far from the capital?

Kind regards

Damian

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .shudder,love to all,THOCandlekeep Forum 7 May 2005

Hi again, everybody.I'm going to have a stab at answering Damian's followup questions myself. Here we go.."Ed a couple of follow up questions if I may?You mentioned that Rallyhorn was renamed as Hultail, may I ask why? Hultail sounds like a given name, so was it renamed to honour someone who had served the king loyally? (similar to how Dhedluk was renamed?) Or because the crown wanted to put a stop to nobles naming towns and cities after themselves?"A bit of both, I think. I know Hultail was named after a family of fisherfolk and netmakers resident in the area who did "good service" to the Crown, and were rewarded. Presumably a land grand went with the name. Hultail was actually a separate settlement (coastal fishing hamlet on the Wyvernwater) that grew to meet Rallyhorn.

"You also mentioned formal 'naming laws'. So did the Crown at the time go through most/all/a few settlements and rename them so they became official rather than the 3 or 4 or more names that the locals called the hamlet/village/town that they live in adding to confusion for people who were not local?"I know there will be more about these naming laws in a forthcoming Realms product, because Ed has told me there's a recent NDA here. He also selected "a few" from your choices, and corroborated the reason (cut down on confusion not just for visitors, but for other Cormyreans - - the problem being many, many name duplications for widely separated places; for instance, at one time Suzail, Marsember, and Arabel ALL had a neighborhood known as "King's Barracks").

"One final question about the Rallyhorns. Were they there with the Obarskyrs and Silver families when Cormyr came into being? The date is very early in human led Cormyr history or are the Rallyhorns an early example of the Kings of Cormyr saying,"Well done, be ennobled, and now go and build a keep on the borderlands of the Kingdom and keep the peace". I ask this because it is only 92 years since the ascension of Faerlthann First-King and it would seem that the site chosen by Theldrin is far from the capital?"Yes, the Rallyhorns were there at the beginnings of human Cormyr.The early nobles were certainly encouraged to settle, govern, and "improve" (roads, bridges, permanent farming population, founding local industries) frontier lands to extend and strengthen the kingdom, and the early kings (aided by Baerauble) "sold" it to any reluctant nobility as the chance to make themselves really rich by arranging everything in "their lands" in their own favor. As this was really, demonstrably true, it worked!

. . . and now I have an e-mail reply back from Ed and can answer xaeyruudh's questions, too!Here we go..."sweet! thank you THO and Ed, and thanks for asking, George.Would the "Dungeons of Torment" mentioned in that rogue stones article be in the flooded tunnels under Dulgund, or in an area accessible through dry tunnels, or elsewhere like a demiplane or something?"

Ed saith:

The Dungeons of Torment are in a failed, dry mine working elsewhere on the same isle, where a dwarf working with Dulgund thought a vein of iron ore SHOULD be accessible (from his experience of how such veins are usually located within bedrock), but in this case was mistaken: no vein was found, despite energetic delving, and the diggings were eventually abandoned. A gate/portal was created (by an unknown spellcaster) in these workings, leading to subterranean tunnels somewhere under mainland Faerûn, so the main part of the Dungeons of Torment isn't on Drelvros (which is known to some pirates today as "Dragonpeak Rock," BTW).

"[He has devised a method of mating crawling claws and some spiders with undead human eyeballs...]Do these critters have names that can be shared yet?"

No. Not yet. Ed can't yet say. He did add: "Sorry." (Which of course hints at future publication.) "Scuttling Eyes" is what some NPCs called them when we Knights encountered them, but I'm not sure if that's the official name, or local slang.

Good Lady, many thanks for the quick reply. The Hultail 'renaming mystery' makes sense now as it was two villages growing into each other.

Really appreciate the answers and have updated the Cormyr thread

Best to all

Damian

So saith Ed. I've never said he was sane, have I?Gods, all this writing and he's running a constant fantasy version of Coronation Street in his head, too. .shudder,love to all,THOCandlekeep Forum 7 May 2005

Dear Ed and THO,That Rallyhorn reply reminded me of a Cormyr question for you both:Are there any non-noble families who have been courtiers (or frequently had jobs at Court or in the Royal Palace) in the Forest Kingdom from its earliest human days down to now? (And if so, could we have some surnames please? :} )Thanks!BB

Great question!I'd like to extend it:Ed or THO, are there any "professional courtier" families who have held government official jobs in more than one country/city-state at a time?E.g. Cormyr and Amn, or Cormyr and Sembia, or Waterdeep and Silverymoon, or - -?If so, names? And if so, do they ever serve as "backdoor diplomacy" routes, acting as secret but okay with the rulers/higher-ups go-betweens, or illicitly share state information?It's obviously great for an intrigue campaign if such families exist, and of course I can invent one for my campaign, but it'd be far cooler if there are official ones!

Ed, if your mind's eye turns towards families who train hunting dogs and later became courtiers who handled or dealt with Royal hunting dogs (if such courtiers exist) and/or worked for noble families, all the better.

As the "Father" of the Forgotten Realms (rather young to be siring at 6 though young man!)...Happy Father's Day Ed!

I second that!

And many thanks for all this lore! I think I'm still puzzled about one detail... in the rogue stones article, Glemmora of Rallyhorn is confined in the Dungeons of Torment by King Urgiathus of Dulgund. If Rallyhorn and Hultail were officially merged in 98 DR, and Dulgund wasn't founded until circa 1108... surely there wasn't enough of Rallyhorn left by Urgiathus' time for Glemmora to be "of" it? (rather than "of Hultail", or "of Cormyr" for that matter, yea, why wasn't she of Cormyr) ...unless she was of Rallyhorn blood, more than simply Rallyhorn geography? ...or at least maybe her family lived in Rallyhorn Castle, as servants or friends or such? Also, approximately where would the mainland portion of the Dungeons of Torment be? And just what sort of torment are we talking about? Spankings?

I'm missing something. Probably one of those "can't find the pencil cuz it's on my ear" moments. Many thanks for your patience!

And good luck with your bonafide work, in-between all our insistent queries.

Hi again, all.Ed says thanks for the Fathers Day good wishes. xaeyruudh, I passed your questions on to him, and he said:

You're quite right that Rallyhorn as a community was long gone (except to locals in Hultail) by the time Glemmora was imprisoned. (Note how overblown the title of "King of Dulgund" was, too.)Glemmora was "of" Rallyhorn because she and family not only lived in Rallyhorn Castle, as senior retainers (for generations) to the Rallyhorns AND as part of the Rallyhorn travelling household (retainers who travel with the families they serve are said to be "of" their families, thus: "of Rallyhorn." As for where the mainland portion of the Dungeons of Torment was: NDA. As for the sort of torment: mind reamings to find out all manner of secrets, that leave most prisoners insane. (Secrets learned are then used for all manner of crimes.) As for spankings, talk to THO . . .

So the family has completely dropped any once-known surname, and all just use "of Rallyhorn" ...what a humble bunch. The imaginary lord in my subconscious finds this practice gratifying (but dangerous) but the genealogist finds it wholly irksome.

Hi again, all.George, I can add attempt just a few snippets or replies re. your lore queries, by drawing on my notes of Realmsplay and what Ed has said when I was quizzing him, over the years:

"the reference to the Testing (and yes, it has a capital "T" ... why?) of the "witch" incantatrix Alaertha by the Council of the Mighty in long-ago Guldethym in Dragon #90"

These 'Testings' were quasi-trials, in which the Council used spells in interrogations to make sure the person they were Testing wasn't under the magical/psionic mental influence of an unseen third party.

"the reference to the adventurer Ironbars of Elcathra in the Ecology of the Leucrotta in Dragon# 91 - where is Elcathra?"

Elcathra was a ship that sailed the Sword Coast, owned by merchants of Tharsult who declared it to be a realm in its own right (that is, a floating, mobile kingdom). This was, of course, scorned by all coastal rulers, as it was seen as an attempt to declare the laws of the ship paramount over the laws of whatever harbour it was docked in (and the ship did seem pretty lawless, if not an outright pirate vessel)...and the whole dispute was rendered moot when the ship and all aboard were blown to sky-high smithereens by spells hurled in 1379 DR, not far off Mintarn. Who hurled that magic, and why, remains a mystery.

"the reference to "the Artel - a tyrant who then ruled northern Amn" in Open Them, If You Dare in Dragon #106"

By "northern Amn," Ed here means the mountains that define the northern borders of Amn, and the foothills between them and just south of them within Amn, where outlaws have long lurked and the rule of Amn has long been ignored or tested (Ed's long-running convention adventures featuring the Baron's Blades, of the Barony of Hawkhill in northeasternmost Amn, represent the enforcement arm of one of the rulers installed to tame these wild backland "high country" ranches and farms.I don't have anything in my notes on the Artel, but there was a recurring stream of outlaw leaders, petty tyrants, and more powerful tyrants who held sway over these areas whenever Amn's back was turned, so to speak. The Artel would be a "more powerful tyrant."

There. So saith Ed, really, because I'm either quoting him or paraphrasing him here.He's still tearingly busy at the moment, but will reply himself when he can.love,THO

Lady Herold, when that Master of a yarn, who goes by the Name Greenwood is free please inform him: I am currently listening to a work of his entitled Spellfire, slowly and patiently scanning it in a page at a time, as the printed word is something those of us with the characteristics a kin to moles, find as precious as a dragon treasure, I have finally gotten to a description of Shadow Dale, and it is a most lovely place; most so in it’s vegetation.

Please do inform him that I do find the place most delightful as he slowly describes it, and is it forms in what passes for my mmind’s eye. Thanks so much for passing along the information, most respectfully, Sightless.

We choose to live a lie, when we see with, & not through the eye.

Every decision, no matter the evidence, is a leap of faith; if it were not, then it wouldn't be a choice at all.

I've just remembered about this passage in the 2e FR boxed set, and wondered if something else was revealed/ published about the incident after that:

"A hunting expedition has returned empty-handed to Arrabar from the Chondalwood, bursting with tales about a huge, twoheaded, gray dragon-thing. Mages who were hired by the expedition's sponsors to magically interrogate the hunters affirm that the hunters believe they saw what they're describing: a winged, reptilian monster as long as five ships that had a stabbing bone sting in its tail and glided in from distant mountains to snatch up the hunters' cages, rend their steel bars like so much dry kindling, and totally devour all the captured animals. Sages consulted in Arrabar have found no records of such a creature in the lore books of Chondath, and no one has yet been able to identify the monster as any one of the known dragon species."

Can you or Ed please shed some light over it?

"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be fought for to be attained and maintained.Lead by example.Let your deeds speak your intentions.Goodness radiated from the heart."

Hi again, all.Marco Volo, the Knights briefly visited the jungles of Chult twice (once a "gentle shipwreck" [grounding] on a merchant caravel we were paying passengers on, and once an expedition to find and explore a lost, overgrown ruin). We visited Amn several times, thrice to Athkatla for intrigue and to hunt down a thief who'd fled Waterdeep, once more passing through on the coastal trade-road, and once pursuing someone through eastern AmnYes, the Knights experienced spelljamming twice (once on an elven vessel, sailing the skies out of Evermeet), and not only saw but were aboard a "space ship" briefly on one of our otherplanar jaunts.We're oooooold. Lots of adventures...love,THO

When Ed has a moment to breathe, and a moment more to talk dragons, I was wondering about a certain Hamairathgauraundon, also called (perhaps mainly by himself?) the High Wyrm of the Crags, mentioned in a chapter-start quote in Hand of Fire. The quote is dated Year of the Watching Helm (992 DR) and the dragon is apparently the author of "Words Spent On Little Fools: Instructing Humans" but no other information seems to be published.

Is the great and grand Hamairathgauraundon still puffing his chest out? Um, that is, graciously allowing mere mortals to bask in his awesomeness?